Boxing legend Roberto Durán tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday and remains in a hospital in Panama City, Panama, where he was admitted due to a viral infection.
“My father’s tests have just arrived and confirm that he is positive for COVID-19. Thank God he is not having symptoms beyond something similar to a cold,” Robin Duran, son of the former champion, wrote on Instagram.
Duran, 69, was taken to the health center as a preventive measure due to his age and because “he has a lung that does not work 100% due to an accident he suffered in 2001 in Argentina,” his son said in the post.
“We have just spoken with the doctor and he told us his lungs are fine and there are no signs of any serious damage,” Robin Duran added.
In the post, the son of the four-time champion also thanked his father’s fans for their support and said his father will remain at the hospital under observation.
Another son, Robert Duran Jr., wrote on Twitter on Friday: “My pops is gonna be fine, thanks be to God.”
One of my older brothers send me this picture of my pops and one of the doctors. My pops is gonna be fine, thanks be to God 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/f6DxMH9mt2
— Robert Durán Jr (@DuranJr88) June 27, 2020
Duran, who rose to fame as a lightweight champion, is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007 after a 33-year professional career that yielded a 103-16 record with 70 knockouts.
Duran’s most memorable rivalry was against “Sugar” Ray Leonard. In their first fight in 1980 in Montreal, Duran beat Leonard to win the WBC welterweight title. Five months later, Leonard stopped Duran in the eighth round in the infamous “No Mas” fight, one of the most iconic in the sport’s history.
Another one of Duran’s career highlights came in 1989, when he topped Iran Barkley to win the WBC middleweight title.
ESPN’s Ben Baby contributed to this report.